By: Oceanna Monroe
With a combination of experienced players and newcomers, the Fremont High boys tennis team has gotten off to a strong start this season.
Junior Miles Lamb, who plays varsity doubles, says, “We had a good group coming back. Then we had…some who had never played the sport before. And then somebody like Clement Pelsy, who’s been playing his whole life.”
Tennis has long been recognized as a sport that combines athletics, strategy, and finesse–captivating audiences around the world. That’s illustrated by Pelsy, a French exchange student who grew up playing tennis. In addition, the Silverwolves had help from home-grown multi-sport athletes like Nathan Campbell.
Led by the team captains like juniors Max Morales and Austin Harvey, and senior Brant Johnson, the team was looking forward to a great season.
And sure enough, the team got off to an amazing start. Their first match of the season was against Northridge and ended with a lopsided 4-1 varsity win for the Wolves. Dallan Murray played a great match and with his doubles partner, Jacob Findlay, finished with a straight-set 6-0, 6-2 victory. Harvey won his singles match 8-3. Murray and Harvey were named players of the match.
Later into the season, with a match win against Ben Lomond, player of the match honors went to Morales and sophomore Garrett Steed. Morales blanked his opponent, in a 6-0 win. Steed partnered with Quinn Dalton for a tough 6-4 doubles win.
With an amazing streak of three wins in a row, the team suffered their first loss against Weber. But the team rebounded and is determined to not let that loss stop them from being the best of the best.
Watching matches, it’s clear to see the team has several layers of leadership. They cheer each other on and celebrate every win they get. There’s an old sports saying, “There’s no I in team,” and this team shows that.
Asked about his journey playing tennis, Campbell explained how he came to the sport a season ago. “I just started playing tennis last year because I had friends on the team, he said. “I wanted to make varsity and go to state.” But a torn ACL this fall in football derailed some of those plans. He entered this tennis season happy to be able to compete at all and be on the court with friends after the injury. “They are just fun and make tennis more enjoyable.”
The Silverwolves went on to compete at the region tournament, and Morales said the varsity players preparing for play-in matches in the state tournament at Brighton High are excited. If they win those matches, they move on to later rounds at Salt Lake City’s Liberty Park, the traditional home of state tennis in Utah. “To have the chance to play-in and then get a chance to compete at Liberty Park is a great opportunity.”
Good luck to Boys Tennis. State tournament begins on Saturday, May 10th.
